~Bite-Sized~

It's amazing to me how we try to get through life via leaps and bounds. Many times we are guilty of biting off more than we can handle. I for one always seem to take on more than I can chew. And it always ends the same: I get overwhelmed, I get sick, and it takes me twice as long to get back on my feet!
This has happened to me more times than I can count. In fact, I am just now coming to the end of one of those "getting back on my feet" periods. It feels wonderful right now though. I feel balanced, I feel structured, I feel confident. But I have to be careful to not fall into the same pattern though.
Carissa has taught me many things! Oh how I love her! But watching her eat is so neat. She has her little pudgy adorable fingers, and she picks up the food she wants to eat and puts it in her mouth with intentionality. But because she loves food so much, she is bound to stick more in her mouth than she can handle. That is why, as her parents, we are responsible for breaking it up into little ~bite-sized~ portions for her, and continuously observe her to make she doesn't put too much in her mouth. How similar is that to how I take on more than I should? The only thing is I don't have someone cutting my "food" into ~bite-sized~ portions.
But I can learn another lesson from Carissa that can help me keep from taking on more than I can handle. Carissa is now to where she is learning how to walk. But getting to this point has been a long but exciting process. She wasn't born being able to walk. She first had to learn to hold her head up, then had to learn to roll over, to sit up, to stand while holding something, to learn the concept of taking steps while holding on, and now she is sometimes able to take 2-3 steps at a time without holding on. She is still learning how to find her balance, and until she does she will not be able to take off walking. But she is determined and she will learn when she has it all figured out. But there is a reason there is a cliche called "Taking baby steps." :-D
Thinking about this as I am about to embark on yet another semester in my seemingly life long career as a student, I am reminded that I cannot take on a full load without first mastering my lighter loads. And most of all, I cannot fully "walk" without first finding my balance. I hope to hold onto these ~Bite-Sized~ lessons as I try to master being Mommy, Wife, Melissa, Minister, and Student! :) But Carissa's perseverance gives me motivation and hope! :)

God as Artist

There are many characteristics that could be attributed to God, but this time I want to focus on God as Artist. This is probably a characteristic that is not commonly recognized as an attribute of God, but tonight I saw a demonstration of His artistic capability.

Here I was, driving home from a meeting at Church on an extremely hot day, and looking ahead of me I begin to see heat lightening. A little at first, but before I know it the lightening is stretching across the sky in some amazing patterns. I really cannot describe how beautiful and magnificent this lightening was. It would begin in a central location and completely branch out for all to see. If I had not had a tired baby in the back seat, I would have loved to just pull over and watch it.
(It reminded me of when I was a child at G.A. camp in Florida, and we loved to watch the heat lightening in the evenings.) What a beautiful display of God's artistic personality.

While I was watching this lightening (I was paying attention to my driving, I promise!), so many things crossed my mind. As I share my thoughts, it is my hope that you too can see God as Artist in some capacity.

First: When I think about lightening in general, I think of something extremely powerful, dangerous, but exhilarating to watch. I definitely have a healthy fear of lightening. It is one of those things that I will appreciate from the comfort of my house without getting too close to windows, water, or electrical circuits. But heat lightening I have always found a little less threatening which gives me freedom to appreciate it without trying to hide from it.
Thinking about this, led me straight to God! God is so powerful!! At times, I think we all have a fear of God's power and try to hide from it (especially if it calls for us to change how we are living). And while, yes, we should at times have a healthy fear of God's power, I think He wants us to appreciate it without feeling threatened. He wants to share with us His magnificent power on a beautiful level. And for me, I saw that thru His heat lightening. In a way, it showed me His artistic sensitive side. I feel like it was His way of telling me, "Look, you know I create this lightening. You know it is one representation of my power. But look, my power is something that is beautiful and I want to share it with you. Everything I do is for you; and tonight, I am filling you with the awesomeness of who I am."
This all led me to my second train of thinking:
This lightening was completely amazing and beautiful, and only someone with an artistic flare could create something so magnificent! Lightening is but one mere masterpiece of God's! But stop and take a look around us - smell the roses if you will. This world we live in was a creation by the first artist - the master of art! It is simply amazing when you actually take the time to appreciate it. And sometimes, if we've been neglecting to take the time to appreciate God's masterpiece, He chooses to put one in our path that we cannot ignore - such as a sky full of heat lightening that was the most beautiful thing!!
It's funny when I think about an artist though, I think of someone who really has this inner self that cannot be defined by words alone... but it needs pictures, colors, feeling, etc. And God definitely fits here. There is no way that I could explain to someone the character of God and who He is to me by simply telling them. I just could never find words to describe Him adequately. But seeing God's creative side invokes emotion in me that gives me an understanding of the complexity of whom God is. There is no way I can describe the emotion either, but I hope that others have experienced this same emotion when looking at God's Art! :)
And all of this ultimately brought me to my third line of thinking.
Since the beginning of time, God has been working on his Ultimate Masterpiece: "His Kingdom"! This will be the most glorious masterpiece of all, not only because He is putting so much time and effort into it - but because He uses His creation as tools to create "His Kingdom."
While I may not fully understand the purpose of everything I go through or what I am supposed to do next, I know that God has a specific way that He wants to use me. Some days, I may be a paintbrush that He uses to touch up, or even to start something new. Other days I may be the paint bringing color to someone else's life. Some days, I may be the rag He uses to clean up a blemish - or bring forgiveness to someone. Other days, I am the tenderness that He puts into making sure it is perfectly up to His standards. I know I could probably drag this analogy out ... but I think I will stop there. The point is no matter what things I am dealing with on a day to day basis in my personal life, I know that it will all work together to help God create His Masterpiece!
They key, however, is to not try to do it myself. Unless you are watching Handy Manny, tools do not perform the tasks by themselves. There is always a greater being who puts their abilities to great use! I, for one, am willing to let God use me in any capacity He sees fit. And the next time I feel like complaining about circumstances in my life, I hope to remember that everything works out for a greater good!! :)

Amazing how many things you can think of on a drive home - all because of seeing series of heat lightening! Thanks for listening! :)